DC Emancipation Day Celebrates 161 Years Of Freedom | Essence

The District of Columbia is celebrating an vital anniversary this weekend.  April sixteenth marks 161 years since DC Emancipation Day — the day when over 3,000 African Individuals had been free of enslavement within the nation’s capital. 

“Throughout DC Emancipation Day, we have a good time our historical past. We have a good time 161 years in the past when President Lincoln signed the DC Compensated Emancipation Act,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser tells ESSENCE in regards to the day that ended slavery within the District and helped mark the start of slavery’s finish in the US.

On April 16, 1862, former President Lincoln signed the act, which additionally compensated former slaveholders for every free particular person and provided newly freed women and men cash to relocate. The extensively recognized Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved individuals within the south, was not signed till the next 12 months, in 1863. 

Yearly, the nation’s capitol commemorates this laws and the braveness of those that fought to make it a actuality in a serious means with a whole weekend of celebrations. 

“This weekend’s festivities aren’t solely a celebration of DC’s management in ending slavery however a chance to remind our nation of how far we’ve come, how far we should go, and spotlight the necessity for DC to grow to be the 51st state,” says LaToya Foster, Director of the DC Workplace of Cable Tv, Movie, Music and Leisure (OCTFME). 

On Friday, Mayor Bowser and her administration helped kick off the festivities on the Full Democracy Champions luncheon underneath the theme “Defending DC Values.” The District continues the celebration on Saturday with the annual Emancipation Day parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, adopted by a free live performance and fireworks at Freedom Plaza, together with performances by R&B sensation Dru Hill, hip-hop legend Rakim and Grammy-nominated gospel artist JJ Hairston. 

A enjoyable household day at Black Lives Matter Plaza is deliberate for Sunday, that includes free health courses and video games in addition to Gospel, R&B, and Go-Go artists, showcasing the wealthy cultural heritage of Washington, DC. The festivities will culminate on Monday with a celebration on the Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition. 

The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Day has been a public vacation since 2005. An area fee was fashioned in 2008 to plan and implement packages highlighting the historical past, tradition, heritage, customs, and traditions of the African American expertise in overcoming the legacy of slavery following the passage of this historic act.